My Beef with the New Carrie Bradshaw

I watched every episode of the original Sex and the City over the course of my junior and senior years of college. My roommate had the entire DVD set… we couldn’t resist. There was nothing better than sprawling all over each other on the couch with something sweet to eat and watching Manhattan’s truly elite (sorry, Gossip Girl) tend to their semi-feminist-but-mostly-sex-driven NYC takeover. We purred over certain Prada bags and Jimmy Choo shoes and shook our heads when Carrie, that Carrie, would forget (or not forget) to put a bra on under whatever high fashion felony she had decided to don (girl power?).

That being said—I often found Carrie’s taste insane. She found every single way to offend my fashion senses, from weird fishing hats with Stella McCartney mini dresses, to feathered bell-sleeved blouses and leather pants, to belly-bearing stripper-esque tops with hot shorts, a long jacket and a pair of furry Manolo Blahniks. That’s not to say she didn’t pull off amazing looks that no one but Sarah Jessica Parker could, including the infamous Times Square tutu and many a flora dress. It just wasn’t until I saw the new Carrie Bradshaw, featured in CWTV’s latest teeny-bopper flop The Carrie Diaries, that I actually started to find the taste of the original Carrie Bradshaw more appealing.

In truth, I have not bothered to watch any of the episodes of the first (and probably final) season, but the commercials and other flashy advertisements have told me enough. That a younger, even more whiny 80s version of Carrie Bradshaw — who does not look 80s at all — had an even more harlequin style and found lime-green leopard print and plastic red accessories appealing? TOGETHER?

PLEASE, CWTV, MY EYES! MY EYES!

It’s almost insulting to resurrect Carrie, regardless of the newer title being based on another Candace Bushnell book. Once you see Samantha go down on almost every existing male character in Chanel, watch Charlotte finally find the man of her dreams and a diamond from Harry Winston, hope Miranda gets back together with Steve and out of her tailored pantsuits, and witness Carrie tie the knot with Big in Manolos, there’s literally no reason to care about a way less scandalous high-school version of Bradshaw. I do, however, equally blame the likelihood of the show being cancelled on the stylists dressing new Carrie like she fell into the sale pile at Wet Seal. Yes, the fashion of the original Carrie Bradshaw was avant-garde, risqué and a little out of touch with reality, but it was never this desperate, or off-decade. And ultimately, we loved her because she was Carrie Bradshaw, both très chic and très tragique in all of her inner-monologued glory. There will never be another.

… especially if she’s wearing a rainbow-print belt in head to toe sequins.

Lexi is a creative writer, fashion aficionado and music maven who graduated from University of Central Florida with degrees in English and Journalism in fall of 2011. She works as the associate editor—and social media guru—of Orlando magazine and Orlando Wedding magazine. Lexi currently lives in downtown Orlando where she can most often be found checking out live music, eating sushi, and snuggling excessively with her dog, Watson. She quenches endless wanderlust by roadtripping to music festivals and flying out to the west coast and NYC annually.

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One response to “My Beef with the New Carrie Bradshaw”

I couldn’t agree with everything you said above any more! I was deeply offended when I found out about the new Carrie show. You just can’t mess with a classic like Sex in the City. It seemed as if the makers of the show were just trying to capitalize on the iconic brand. Some things are better left alone.

And on a side note…I started a company called The Mr. Collection. I would be so grateful if you took a look at it. It’s an online men’s clothing and rental service. And I guarantee you, that the clothing you’ll see won’t be as risque or out there as Carrie’s sometimes were. 😉